That's never happened before: radio operators from Vaterstetten win 1st place in the German club championship

Created: 01/22/2022, 14:49

By: Robert Langer

Three radio amateur generations in front of the trophy collection in the club room of the Vaterstetten radio amateurs.

Vaterstetten's Mayor Leonhard Spitzauer congratulates the winners of the German Club Championships in OHA Vaterstetten.

© Wolf/Municipality of Vaterstetten

VThe German Amateur Radio Club (DARC) with more than 1000 local associations held a championship again this year.

The radio operators in Vaterstetten won for the first time.

Vaterstetten – It worked. The radio operators in Vaterstetten had already achieved top positions several times. Now they are at the top. Every year, the German Amateur Radio Club (DARC) organizes the club championship for its more than a thousand local associations, which is considered one of the most demanding competitions in German radio amateurs. Now this competition was won for the first time by the local chapter of Vaterstetten. Around 130 members are organized in the association in the largest municipality in the district. Around 40 were on the team for the competition.

The radio operators usually enjoy worldwide calls.

The technology is also fascinating.

One of the goals of the competition is to document as many contacts as possible with interlocutors worldwide within a set time frame.

There are points for that.

Billing also includes how far away the recipient is.

Everything is checked by computer, as club member Rudolf Schwenger (81) explains.

Championship of the German Amateur Radio Club: competitions last over 48 hours

"Last year, the club championship included a total of 15 competitions." There are special regulations for each. Some competitions went over 48 hours. "That requires marathon qualities and therefore not only the motivation of the individual competitors is a decisive success factor, but also the benevolent understanding in the family circle." The proximity to Munich with its high-tech industry is very helpful for the people from Vaterstetten. "There's no lack of top technical experts." Schwenger is responsible for the competition at the club and has a lot of experience. After all, he has been loyal to his hobby for around six decades.

Manfred Lauterborn, who has been in charge of the local chapter of Vaterstetten for ten years, is also satisfied.

"This time we wanted to know for sure, pooled all our technical and human resources, worked on a strategic plan, benefited a bit from the Corona situation and indeed, we made it." Even if the award was not officially presented until the end of June on the occasion of the "HamRadio “ in Friedrichshafen, “there is no doubt that the local association won the German Club Championship 2021 by a very clear margin.”

Whether it's communication around the world or a glowing lightbulb: power consumption is about the same

The heart of the local chapter of Vaterstetten beats in the OHA.

The club station with its large antennas enables worldwide radio communication on shortwave.

Lauterborn: "It's fascinating that from there you can establish communication with Australia, for example, without intermediate repeaters, boosters or computers with the equivalent of the power consumption of an electric light bulb."

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